C'est la Vi-vier

The moment I saw it, I wanted it!  I needed me a Clare Vivier.  The messenger bag was everything I was looking for.  The long/short strap allowing for the in the hand/cross body/in the crook of the arm carrying combination.  Nothing was wanting in this simple, slouchy design.

I obsessed over it a few days.  Should I order it online, should I visit one of the LA stores that carry the bags, or should I wait for the feeling to pass?  It never passed.  Lucky for me, Clare is local - Echo Park.  So on an unusually gloomy afternoon, I drove on over to her studio (which turns out to be a back room in her lovely two story home).  She was as kind as can be - offering tea and coffee.  After some thought, I settled for the gray messenger 

and the black la trop.  Then I got the heck out of there before I purchased anything else (like her adorable clutches).